Insole-slashing machine.



PATENTED NOV. 26, 1907.

w. o. STEWART. INSOLB SLASHING. MACHINE.

APPLICATION FILED MAY 10, 1906.

5 BKEETB-BHEHT 1.

I I l l Ill William L Si'warf Illl Illlllllllllllll l l l I I I l I I l I 1 I l I ll/b'tnaases:

PATENTED NOV. 26, 1907.

W. U. STEWART.

INSOLE SLASHING MACHINE.

APPLICATION rmm MAY 10, mos.

' s SHEETS-SHEET a.

PATENTED NOV. 26, 1907.

W. U. STEWART.

INSOLE SLASHING MACHINE.

APPLICATION FILED MAY 10, 1906.

5 SHEETS-SHEET 3.

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Inventor- ZdzZ/z'am 6 526200211 'No. 871,967. PATENTED NOV. 26, 1907.

W. 0. STEWART.

INSOLE SLASHING MACHINE.

APPLICATION FILED MAY 1 0, 1906.

5 SHEETS-SHEET 4.

6 I 4 wizfrwsses: I Inventor.-

WM A /W.

Wm flsz mrr No. 871,967 PATBNTLED Nov. 26, 1907.

' w. c. STEWART.

INSOLE SLASHING MACHINE.

APPLIOATION FILED MAY 10, 1906.

6 SHEETS-SHEET 5.

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, unrrnn srarns PATENT onnron.

WILLIAM C. STEWART, OF LYNN, MASSACHUSETTS, ASSIGNOR TOMANUFAGTURERS MACHINE COMPANY, JERSEY.

OF MONTOLAIR, NEW JERSEY, A CORPORATION OF NEW INSOLE-SLASHING MACHINE.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Nov. 28, 1907.

Application filed May 10.1906. Serial No. 316,102.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, WILLIAM C. STEWART, a subject of the King of GreatBritain, and a resident of Lynn, county of Essex, State of Massachusetts, have invented an Improvement in Insole-Slashing Machines, of which the following description, in connection with the accompanying drawings, is a specification, like letters on the drawings representing like parts. v

This invention has for its object to pro-' videa machine for slashin insoles, employed in'the manufactureof boots and shoes, for the pur )ose of rendering such soles and the shoes 0" which they constitute a part more flexible than would otherwise be the case.

,While my invention may be employed in slashing any kind of insole, it has peculiar advantages in connection with what are known as welt insoles employed in the manufacture of welted shoes.

The welt insole is provided around its margin or periphery with a channel and lip to which the upper and welt are subsequently stitched and, obviously, the slashes employed for flexing the sole must not extend through or beyond this channel, for the latter must remain intact for retaining and holding the stitches which secure the upper and welt in position. Because of this marginal channel lip it is impossible to run the sole transversely between slashing rollers or cutters'as is done with McKay soles; consequently it has been customary to employ gangs of slashing knives depending from a common izead with means "or depressing this head upon the sole to slit it transversely within the lip, the knives being so shaped and adjusted as to embrace an area well Within the area bounded by the lip. An obj'ection to machines of this. type is that the knife or knives must be adjusted for every change 111 wldth of sole If the slashes are to be carried in every case to a given d1s- .tance within and from the lips at the two sides of the sole. Another objection is that rights and lofts require differently adjusted knives or bladcs, so that in practice such frequent adjustments and exchanges of knives are required in this type of machine as to render it in a large measure impracticable for commercial use in large factories.

My invention aims among other things to provide-a machine through which the welt insoles, in fact any kind oi an insole, may be fed as between rollers, and suitable means is provided for causing the slashes, which pref erahly are made successively, to vary in length according to the separation of the lips in the lines of the respective slashes or according to the varying contours of the soles, irrespective of size or width, and whether they be rights or lefts.

My invention will be best understood from a description of one embodiment thereof,

illustrated in the accompanying drawings.

Pg. 1; Fig. 7, a detail partially in section on.

the dotted line 7-7, Fig. 1, showing the means for endwise reciprocating the slashing knife to produce in the machine shown transverse slashes dill'ering in ler. th Fig. 8 a sectional detail on the dotted line 88, Fig. 1 Fig. 0, a sectional detail on the dotted line 9-Q, Fig. 3, to be referred to, and Fig. 10, a diagram illustrating the manner of slashing a sole by the embodiment of my invention here illustrated. in the particular embodlment of my inpartially broken away to show the driv vention selected for illustration herein and shown in the drawings, referring first to Figs. 1-3, inclusive, the frame is shown as comprising a bed piece, withlside members having upwardly inclined or oblique front faces, as indicated. In the up er ends of these side members isjournaled t re main drive shaft 2, provided at one end with a driving pulley, 3, loose thereon, and adapted to be connected at will uith and to rotate said shaft through the medium of any suitable or desired clutch mechanism.

In the present embodiment of my invention, see Fig. 3, I have shown a friction clutch, 4, of the well-known roller type,

the same comprising a hub fast on the shaft cancer and provided with inclined faces, 5, cooper- 1 in length to kee pace with the widening-sole,

and to 'accomp ish this with 'a knife of-iixed ating with whichrare rollers, 6,in a cage,- 7,

" allwithin a housing, 8, fast'to the pulley. A

spring, 9 connects the housing with the roller cage and tends to draw the latter normally to engage the rollerswlth the inclines,

' 5, on the collar, the, cage being provided with a radially extended ear, 10, by which to control the engagement and disengagement of the rollers with said inclines in a manner to-be hereinafter described. last on said shaft, 2,-between its bearings, is an eccentric, 11, see -.l-ig. 1, embracedby an eccentric strap, 12, adjustahly. connected by a rod, 13', withiaslide, 14,1nounted in suitable guides or ways, 15, on the inclined front faces of the side frame members, 1,

whereby rotation of'said shaft will cause re ciprocation of said slide.

it it'll be noticed in Fig. 1 that instead or connecting the eccentric rod, 13, with its slide by a usual wrist .pin construction, said rod is connecteduniversally, as by alball and socket joint, with said slide whereby the eccentric rod may be screwed into its strap, *12, and adjusted to any degree of nicety by partial rotation, which would be impossible if a wrist pin were employed, because the latter would always require a half turn or a multiple thereof foradjusting. I

The slide, 14, at itslow'er edge is provided top and bottom, see Fig. 3, with two flanged guide plates, 16, to slide transversely a knife carrier, '17. This knife carrier, see Fig. 1, presents two downwardly extended arms, "which embrace The edges" of between them the knife, 18. this .knife are preferably beveled at its"o ter being provided with a draw screw-, l9', by which they-may be drawn to clamp them tightly to, the edges of said knife to hold the latter in desired adjusted position. To facilitate nice adjustment of the knife, the lat-- ter is supported atits upper end by a set screw, 20, which, wheirthe knifeis released I byslackening the screw, 19, may be turned a more 'or' less to force said kmfe forward, or to permit it to be ushed inward, as may be desired, after w ich it is'clamped by the screw, 19.-

- and will of course always make a cut of one invariable length, which, for, the best results, sho-uldbe equal to the shortest cut to be made in any insole to be operated upon. As the cut progresses from the toe end of the sole towards thewidest or ball part thereof the cuts or slashes obviously should progress between which is mounted Obviously, reciprocation of-the' slide; l-fl-f will cause corresponding rec1p'ro'- width, as shown, my invention contemplates making two cuts with the knife for each step feed of the sole, the first out being made-next onefedge of the sole and extending inward more or less across the sole and then as the knife iswithdravrn it is moved endwise, or across the sole, into a corresponding position relative to the' opposite edge of the sole and given a second cutting movement to cut the.

sole in line with and in extension of the first cut, the two cuts together forming one continuous'slash across the sole from edge to edge thereof or from margin to margin of the desiredslashed area of the sole. The two successivecuts will of course overlap more or lessat the middle of the sole according to the width of sole; thus at the narrower portions of the sole the two cuts will be almost superim osed one upon the other, while at the wi e'st ortions of the widest soles the two cuts be made practically end to end with. little or no overlap. This is illustrated in' Fig. 10, where the first of the'pairs of successive cuts necessary to produce a slash across the sole are indicated by the double parallel lines marked 5a. and the second of the pairs of cuts, in extension of the first,are 1 shown by the single lines marked 6. It will be seen that these cuts overlap-to a greater extent in the vicinities of the narrow portions of the sole than at the wider portions thereof. It is evident, therefore, that for every step feed there'must be two downward or chopping strokes of the cutter and that between each pair of downward strokes of. the cutter the latter is" moved 'endwise across the sole from one. tothe opposite edge thereof, this endwise movement being obtained by sliding the knife carrier in its transverse guide, 16, on thereciprocable head, 14.

To" accomplish this I havev connected to thesaid knife carrier at one side a connecting rod, 21, jointed at its outer end to a depending arm of a bell crank lever, 22, fulcrumed at 23, in a bracket, 24, on one of the frame side members. This bell crank lever has two horizontal arms, marked respectively 25, and

26, see Fig- 7. The arm, 26, is forked at its end to embrace the flanged sleeve, 27, loose on the slide rod, 28, mounted in suitable bearings, 29, on the frame. At'its opposite ends said collar, 27, is supported by springs, 30, seated'at their outer ends respectively against a collar, 31, and an arm, 32 bothfast on the rod, 28, so that reci rocation of saldrod will act through the sai springs, 30, to-rock said arm, 26, the springs permitting 'a'uniform reciprocation of 'the rod, even 'Ltlrough the arm, 26, be permitted to have a limited rockingmovement only. 1

The rod, 28, is reciprocated' by means of a connecting rod, 31,'see F1gs. 1., 2 and 7, from driven by a pinion, 35,,on the mainshaft, 2,

reciprocating slide, 14, so that the said knife with a suitable, preferably roller, clutch, 40,

succeeding reciprocation of said rod.

uniform length, while the feed for the best results should be capable of variation, I have 1 provided u on the side of the bed, see Fig. 2, an adjusta 1e stop, 45, which serves to limit .the return or retractile movement of the rnove'it in its downward a crank p' 1, 32, on a shaft, 33, journaled' in bearings in the side frame members. This shaft, 33, has fast-upon it a gear wheel, 34',

the gear being such as to rotate the said shaft, 33, at onehalf the speed of the main shaft.

From the foregoing it will appear, that. reciprocation of the, slide rod, 28, throughits springs, 30, will rock said arm, 26, and the bell crank of which it is a part, and through the said bell crank and the connecting rod, 21, Fig. 1, will impart transverse reciprocation to the knife carrier andits knife in the has a combined up and down or chopping movement and also an endwise sliding movement to produce a cut that is longer than the width of the knife itself.

I will now describe the means for supporting and feeding the sole to present the latter to the reciprocating knife.

Referring particularly to Fig. 4, the bed of the frame is provided with an anvil, 36, presenting an outer curved face over which the sole may bedrawn, as indicated in dotted lines. Immediately behind the anvil is the feed roller, 37, and-above it the presser roller, 38. The feed roller, which preferably is of metal with a corrugated or roughened surface, but which may have a rubber or other yielding surface, if desired, is fast upon a shaft, 39, journaled in the frame and ro vided at its righthand end (Figs. 1 an 2) having an actuating arm, 41, controlled by a spring, 42-, attached to the frame.

Referring to Fig. 7, the arm 32 on the slide rod, 28, previously referred to, carries in its outer end a clutch actuator, 43, which. slides in the hearing, 29, referred to, and at its lower end, see Fig. 2, is rovided with an actuator block, 44, adapte at each reciprocation of saidslide rod to engage the clutch actuator, 41, and move it to the left, Fig. 2, to im art a step movement to the feed roll, 37. pon eachtupwardmovement of said slide rod the spring 42 retracts the clutch actuator preparatory to a new engagement for another feeding movement at the next The reciprocation of the slide rod being of clutch actuator under the influence of its spring, and thereby determine the extent to which the; clutch actuatin rod, 43, may pushing movement. Sincethe clutch actuator always pushes the clutch arm, 41,-to a given position, it is evident that any variation in the return or retractile movement will produce a corresponding variation in the effective feed given to the feed roller.

At the opposite side of the machine the feed roll shaft is provided with a back stop clutch, 46, similar in construction to the feed clutch, 40, but reversely acting, said clutch, 46, serving to hold the feed roll always in the position to which it has been moved so as to prevent the roll returning with the clutch return.

Returning again to Fig. 4', the presser roller, 38, is loosely mounted in a pair of arms, 47, loosely mounted upon the shaft, 48, journaled in the side frame members. These arms, 47, are provided respectively with rearwardly extended tail portions, 49,

provided with adjusting screws, 50, which are acted upon by presser springs, 51, seated in the frame, and which tend to throw the presser roller, 38, normally downward into contact with a sole resting upon the feed roll. This downward s ring actuated movement of the presser rol er is normally restrained and controlled by contact with two pins, 52, carried in a pair of arms, 53, that are fast on said shaft, 48, and carry at their outer ends a flexing or bending roller, 54. The said. shaft, 48, is provided with a treadle arm, 55, connected by a rod, 56, 'with a suitable treadle (not shown), andis provided with a return spring, 57, acting in opposition to the treadle, said spring, 57, being of sufficient strength toovercome the presser springs, 51,

and normally com ress the latter to hold' both the flexing ro ler, 54, and the resser roller; 38, normally in' their elevate tions. I

In the rear of and between the presser and feed rollers stands a feeding stop, 57*, on a rod, 58, adjustably mounted in an arm, 59, on a shaft, 60, mounted in the frame. Said shaft is provided with a second horizontally extended arm, 61, that overlies an car, 62, on one of the flexer arms, .53.

The sole to be slashed is inserted toe end first over the anvil beneath the knife and between the feed and presser rollers with its end abutting against the stop, 57*. The operator now depresses the treadle and brings the prcsser and flexing rollers down upon the sole. The presser'roller 38 first contacts with the sole and there rests under the action of its springs, 51, so as first to grip the sole and hold its leading end accurately in position. dle brings the flexing roller, 54, down upon the sole to bend or flex the latter down over and upon. the curved face of the anvil, 36, so that that portion of the sole which is to receive' the cut of the knife is always bent into convex form, with its top face under tension and calculated 'to receive a slash with the least effort and with the cleanest cut by the knife. As the flexer roller is advanced its posi- Further movement of the trea- Cll1]1e ,and intermediate their lengths are pro-v car, 62, rises.under the arm, 61, of the abutting stop, 57 and-lifts said stop into a position above the level of the sole so .as not to interfere with the feed of the latter between its rollers. If, now, the driving clutch be thrown into operation, the rotation of, the driving shaft will cause the slashing knife toreciprocate rapidly to chop a series of slashes in the insole as the latter is fed step by step between thefeed and the presser roller, the

machine being timed so that each slash cuttakes place during a period of rest between successive'feeds of the sole and said knife, as stated, is given a transverse or endwise movement between successive downward cut-. ting movements. I 'As stated'in the reamble, the areas tobe slashed are rarely a ike either in shape or extent, but however irregular these areas may -be either asto shape or extent, both. the

shape and extent as a rule are substantially accurately-represented by the peripheral or marginal edge of the sole, and therefore in the machine here disclosed I work from the peripheryof the sole to determine both the sha e. andarea to be slashed. To accomplis this, see Figs. 1' and 5, I have pivoted to the front-edge of the bed at 63, two feelerarms, 64, that rise ina direction substantially parallel with the inclined front of the mavided with inwardly, and upwardly extended contact ears, 65 ,adapted to-pressagainst andto follow the outline of the peripheral edges of a sole fed between them. Said feelers are drawn normally toward each other by a connecting spring, 66, Fig. 5.] Obviously, as a sole is fed between these feelers they will be gradually spread and afterwards contracted accordingto and following the shape of the sole and the extent to which they areso separated and contracted will-represent the area -of the sole, a-portion of which is to be slashed. To communicate this tell-tale or measuring action to-the' cutter for limiting the transverse reeiprocations of the latter, I have connected the upper ends of the said feelers, 64,

by links, 67, with two oppositely tapering wedge-shaped slides, 68, and 69, mounted to SlIClG 1n suitable bearings, 70, on the frame. Obviously, as these feelers are spread by the increasing width of the sole, the opposite movements of the wedge slides v68, 69, will cause the inclined or wedged faces to be effectively separated, and conversely as those feelers approach to indicate a narrowing SOi(,

the opposite return movements-of said wedge slides will effectively contract the space between their beveled or inclined faces. It is likewise true that if"one sole edge were straight and the other one were curved, or if one presented less curvature than the other, in each case the wedge slides for the respective sole edges would by their positions correctly indicate theshape of sole being fed through the machine. I

Playing transversely between the inclined faces of these slides is the downturned end of a stop rod, 71, which, see-Fi 7, is extended substantially parallel with t e slide rod, 28,

and is mounted at one of'its ends in a bear- I ing, 72, on the frame, and at its opposite end in a cap, 73, covering the wedge slides, 69. Loosely mounted on this stop rod is a flanged sleeve, 74, centered between springs, 75, seated against collars, 7 6, fast on said stop rod. The spring centered collar, 74, is embraced by the forked end of the second arm, 24, of the bell crank heretofore referred to. It will now be clear that the oscillations of the bell 'crankwhich reciprocate the knife transversely are limited by the play of the stop .rod, 7 1., between the wedge slots 68, 69, and

that the separation'of'said slides determines the length of transverse reciprocation of the knife, which may vary from time to time ac-' cording to the shape of the sole. Consequently, the excess movements ofthe slide H rod, 28, beyond the oscillatory movement permitted to the bell crank, are taken up in compressing one or the other of the springs, :30, the shorter and stiffer springs, 7 5 between the stop rodand its bell crank arm, 24,

being merely cushioning-stops to relieve any shocks which might otherwise be, produced by abriptly stopping the rapidly reciprocatlng e.

connected by screws 76,. 77, with their respective slides toperrnit said wedges to be adjusted on their slides to provide-for any desired unslashed margin on the sole withinthe periphery of the latter. Thus,'it is possible to The wedges 68, 69 are shown as adjustably I limit the transverse reciprocations of the knife so that they will slash an area reaching only to the channel. or lip of an insole or to a upturned channel or any other guiding sur-v face provided upon the sole.

To render the machine automatic in its action so that it may be gaged to permit an op erator to insert a sole in one machine and while it is bemg slashed remove 'a slashed sole from another machine and reinsert a newsole in the latter, I have provided means forstopping the machine at the end of a given number of efiective movements, or,

expressed differently, after it has produced a given number of slashes. This mechanism is bestillustrated in Fig 3. p

Y The driving clutch heretofore referred to spring, 83, seated in the frame: and which tends to throw said hooked block, 78, normally into a position overlying the said clutch ear, 10, to hold the latter. This pring-actuated movement, see Fig. 8, is llmited by an adjustable stop screw, 84, on the ear of said arm, 82. i

. The hooked block, 78, is cushioned above by a spring, 85, seated against one or more nuts, 86, threaded upon the end ofsaid stud,79.

Assuming the driving shaft to be in rotation and the machine in operation, it is clear that if the hooked block, 78, be swung into position in the path of movement of the rapidly revolving clutch ear, 10, that the latter will engage said hooked block and be suddenly arrested, the stop being cushioned by the spring, 85, and this arresting of the said ear and its attached roller cage causes immediate disengagement of the clutch, followed by arresting of the shaft, 2, by reason of a stop pin, 85 betweenthe clutch members, although in actual practice the spring, 9, will serve to arrest the shaft before the sto becomes effective. To move this hookefi block into and out of engaging position I have mounted loosely about its shaft, 81, a lever, 86*, having one of its ends forked and provided with adjustable stop screws, 87, that embrace the arm, 80, upon which the hooked block is mounted. These screws furnish means for adjusting the inward position of said hooked block as may be desired. The opposite end of said lever, 86, is provided with a stud, 88, which plays in aslot, 89, in the upper end of a toggle connection, 90, between said lever 86 and an arm, 91, fast on one of the ilexer arms, 53, at the lefthand side of the machine. By means of this connection whenever the flexer arm is moved to ilen' the sole and start the machine, the toggle Connection, 90, arts to lift the arm, 86*, and throw the hooked block, 78, away from the shaft, 2, to free the clutch and set the machine in motion. Conversely, if the treadle be released, or if the parts be otherwise oppositely moved, said hooked block will be thrown into posit-ion to disengage the clutch and stop the machine. To accomplish .this automatically is one of the purposes of making the connection, 90, as a toggle, its two parts being jointed at 91 and drawn together by a spring, 92. The collapse of the toggle connection under the spring action is prevented by a stop block, 93,

at the opposite side of the connection and attached to the frame, the joint pin, 91, being extended through so that its protruding end may bear against the edge of said block, 93.

When the arm, 91 is raised to arrest the toggle connection and start the machine, this pin, 91, rides up the side of said block and springs over the top thereof into a seat, 94., provided therefor, and which supports said pin, the connection, and the parts 0 erated thereby in the position into which t ey are moved to start the machine. And to stop the machine, this pin must be disengaged from its seatto permit the connectionto drop. For this purpose I have rovided upon the side of the machine a toot ed slide bar, 95, mounted at its under side in the bearing, 96, and at its upper sideconfined by a roller, 97, and also at its upper end at the same side by the yielding support, 98. Near its upper end this sliding bar is provided at its under side with a series of teeth constituting a rack, 99, adapted tobe engaged by a crank pin, or sin le toothed gear, 100, fast on the end of the s aft, 33, previously referred to. Near its lower end said bearing is provided at its under side with a series of ratchet teeth, 101, and at its lower end with a disengaging ear, 102. The upper member of the toggle connection, 90, is provided at its inner side and between it and the side frame with a pawl, 103, acted upon by a spring, 104, and when the connection is raised to start the machine this pawl is brought into engagement with the ratchet toothed under edge of the slide bar, 95. l/Vhen, now, the machine is started, rotation of said shaft, 33, acts through itssingle toothed gear, 100, to move said bar step-by-step upward, it being held in each stepped machine continuing its operation until in this gradual step-by-step upward movement the disengaging car, 102, strikes the. toggle joint of the connection, 90, when the next succeeding step movement of said bar causes said ear to break the toggle, disen age it sufli:

ciently to unseat it from the book, 93, and permit the parts to return to their normal positions with the notched block, 78, in the path of movement of the clutch ear to stop the machine.

The dropping of the toggle connection releases the notched'bar and the latter slides downward to its starting position, where it is arrested by a plug stop, 105. A series of holes is rovided for this plug stop, into anv of whieli it may be placed for vary g bl 'v gravity movement of the notched slide and, obviously, the position in which it is arrested in this return ,movement determines the number of teeth re uired to raise it before it will unseat the to g quently the number of slashes to be made by the machine before it is automatically stepped.

position by one of its. ratchet teeth resting upon the pawl, 103, the

e connection, and conse to the and illustrating one form of my invention,

provides not only means for predetermi- 'nately varying the shape and'width of the slashed area, but also the length of such area, and so far as known to me this isthe first machine having these capacities or any of them. i I l I have previously stated that at itsupper end the notched rack slide, 95, is yieldingly supported by the support, 98; this support is shown in detail inFi 9, its spring bein marked 106. If the slide, 95., be obstructe and prevented from gravitating freely 'to its lowermost position, this. yielding support will permit it to give way before the rotating single toothed gear, 100, and prevent damage arts; v

Shou d the operative'maintain the treadle depressed, thereby reventing the toggle connection, 90, from o ping to stop themachine, the continue movement of the toothed slide, 95,:will cause itsear, 102, to

break the toggle sufiiciently'to shorten the.

connection and thereby stop the machine,

even though the treadle' remain depressed." TlllS collapse of the toggle is facilitated the- I moment the dead center line is passed by the spring, 83, Fig.8, actingon and controlling the arm, 80.

To prevent rebound of the clutch and driving shaft when the latter are stopped, Fig. 3,

' I have provided the clutch housing 8, with a segmental series of ratchet teeth, 107 ,"adapted to be engaged by'a spring-supported pawl, 108, on the. arm, 80, when said arm is thrown into clutch engaging osition.

While I havefoun it convenient to feed the sole straight through and constitute the knife the reel rocable member, obviously the reverse woul be the mechanical equivalent thereof, making the sole the reclprocable member. In other" respects, also, it must be understood that the embodiment of my invention heresh'own and describedis simply illustrative thereof-and, I believe, the best,

though not the only, embodiment thereof.

Claim I 1 1. A-shoesole' slashinganachine corn rising, in combination, reciprocating slas ing means; and actuating means therefor, to produce progressively a slashed area comprising slashes of varying lengths.

2. A slashing machine comprising the combination of slashing means for producing a slashed area of separate slashes, and slash elongating -means. I I

3; In a shoe sole slashing machine, the combination of slashing means for producing a slashed area comprising a plurality of separate slashes and means relatively to move the slashing means an work to elongate a slash. I

4. In a slashing machine, the combination combination, slashing means; an

with a slashing means arranged to form a slashed area comprising a plurality of separate slashes, of meansv to cause the same to act upon the work in a lurality of positions for making a single slas l r.

- 5; A slashing machine comprising in combination, slashing means for producing a plurality of separate slashes in the surface of a shoe sole, and means'to cause the slashing means to act rogressively alon'gth line of a proposed slas to determine the length of the atter. I

6. A slashing machine, comprising in combination, a slashing blade, a work support,

and actuating means for causing the blade to form separate slashes in the work,- including meansrelatively to move the blade and work to elongate the same. I

7. A shoe sole slashing machine, ,comprising in combination, slashing means constructed and'arranged to form a slashed area of separate slashes, and means for causing the slashing means to act upon the work in a plu ralitylof positions transversely of the work.

8. A slashing machine comprising, in combination, slashing means; and -means for causing the slashing means to act alternatively at different distances from an edge of the work.

' 9. A slashing machine comprising, in combination, slashing means; and work gov erned means to vary the slashed area of the work. I

10. A slashing machine comdprising, 1n

automatic slash positioning means to vary the locations of slashes to produce aslashed area on the Work'for the time,being operated upon.

11. A slashing machine, comprising, in

combination, slashing means; and means cooperating with the work to determine the ioo length of a slash by reference to a dimension I of the work.

12. A slashing machine'comprising, in combination, slashing means; actuating means therefor, including means'to produce a slashed area of varying dimensions; and means to determine dimensions of the slashed area con trolled by the dimensions of the work.

13. A. slashing machine, comprising in combination slashing means; and automatlc work-controlled slash-positioning means to cause slashes to follow a predetermined contour relative 'to the work being operated upon in the production of a slashed area comprising a plurality of separate slashes.

14. A slashing machine comprising, in

combination, slashing means; means for causing the same to produce \PIOgIOSSlVGlY a slashed area comprising slas ies of varying lengths; and automatic means to determine the number of said slashes.

15. A slashing machine comprising, in combination, slashing means; automatic workgoverned means to vary the slashed area produced by the slashing means; and adjustable means to determine the number of slashes in said area.

16. A slashing machine comprising, in combination, reciprocating slashing means acting progressively to make separate slashes of varying lengths to form a slashed surface; and flexing means to flex the work to be operated upon by the reciprocating slashing means.

" of the work;

upon a side tively-effective work-governed 17 A slashing machine comprising, in combination, slashing means; actuating means therefor; means to vary the lengths of slashes; and means to change the spacing between slashes.

18. A slashing machine comprising, in combination, slashing means; means for causing the slashing means to act upon the work in a plurality of positions transversely i and variable means for determining the spacing between successive slashes.

19. A slashing machine comprising, in combination, slashing means; actuating means therefor; means to determine the position of an initial slash; meansto determine the intervals of space between slashes;

means to determine the number of slashes; means to determine ,the length of each slash; and meansto vary said determining means respectively, whereby the character and dimensions of a slashed area may be accurately determined.

20. A slashing machine comprising, in combination, slashing means: actuating means therefor; means to act on an end of the work to determine the-location of a slash lengthwise of the work; and means to act the location of a slash transversely of the work.

21. A slashing machine comprisin in combination, slashing means; and slashpositioning means, including alternativelyefl'ective surfaces to govern the slashing according to the work presented.

22. A slashing machine comprising, in combination, slashing means; and alternaslash-positiomng surfaces to locate slashes in accordance with the area of work intended to be operated i on.

23. A" s ashing machine, comprising, in combination, a work-support; a cutter arranged to act u on the surface of a shoe sole; means relative y to reciprocate the cutter in a plurality-of directions to produce a slashed area, said slashed area comprising a plurality of separate slashes; and means to cause predetermined variation in limits of said reciprocations in one direction.

24. A slashing machine comprising, in combination, a work support, a cutter arportion of the work to determine.

ranged to act upon the surface of the shoe sole; means relatively to reciprocate the same in a plurality of directions to produce a slashed area of separate slashes; and means variable. according to the particular sole to be slashed to vary the said reciprocations, in one direction. I 25. A slashing machine comprising in I combination, a work support, a cutter constructed and arranged to form a slashed area comprising a plurality of separate slashes, means relative y to reciprocate the same in a plurality of directions to produce slashes in the surface of the shoe sole in different locations, and means governed by the sole to be slashed to vary said reciprocations inon'e direction.

26. A slashing machine comprising in combination a work support, a cutter constructed and arranged to produce a slashed area comprising separate slashes, means relatively to reciprocate the cutter and work support in a lurality of directions, and means governed by the sole to be slashed to.vary said reciprocations in one direction, thereby to adapt the slashes to the governing sole.

27. A slashing machine comprising, in combination, a work support; acutter; means relatively to move the same for slashing a sole; feed rollers normally separated; a stop beyond and opposite the space between said rollers; and means to bring said rollers into feeding contact with the sole and also to remove said stop from the path of feeding movement.

28. A slashing machine comprising, in combination, means relatively to move the same for slashing a sole normally separated feeding devices; a flexer; and means to cause effective engagement ofsaid feeding devices with the sole and for following the same with efl'ective engagement of said fiexer also with said sole.

29. A slashing machine comprising, in combination, a work support; a cutter; a cutter carrier; a slide on which said carrier is mounted; means to reciprocate said slide; and means also to reciprocate said carrier on and transversely of said slide, the transverse reciprocations occurring uniformly one for a given plurality of slide reciprocations.

30. A slashing machine comprising, in combination, a work support; a cutter; a slide for reciprocating sald cutter in one direction; means to reciprocate said cutter on and transversely of said slide; said means being yieldingly connected with said cutter whereby the transverse reciprocations may be varied relative to said means; and means to vary said transverse reciprocations accord; ing to the sole or piece of work operated upon.

31. A slashing machine comprising, in combination, a work support; a cutter; means to impart endwise reciprocation to the a work support; a cutter;-

latter; means to impart variable transverse rcciprocations to said cutter; Workfeedmg means and means governed b", the Work fed into the machine to vary; the said transverse reciproc-ations. v

32. A slashing machine comprising, in combination, a Work support; a reciprocable cutter; feedingmeans; means acted upon'by.

the work fed into the machine and respon' combination, a Work support; a reciprocable cutter; feeding means; measuring means acting upon opposite sides of the work fed into the machine and responsive to variations in Width of said Work; means to press the same yieldingly towards each other; and reciprocation limiting devices controlled by said measuring means.

34. A slashing machine omprising, in combination, a Work support ;'a knife; means for causing the knife to act upon the Work; knife adjusting means to change the operative position of the knife in relation to the Work; a pair of measuring arms to cooperate with the Work; and governing means for the knife adjusting means including opposed oblique surfaces movable .upon movement of said measuring arms respectively to present different degrees of separation whereby to determine the extent of effective operation of said knife adjusting means. I

35 A slashing machine comprising, in combination, a knife; knife adjusting means to vary the operative position of the knife in relation to the Work; measuring means to cooperate with opposite sides of the Work; and limiting stops for the knife adjusting mean governed by the measuringme ans.

36. A slashing machine comprising, in combination, a Work support; a reciprocable knife; means, having a fixed range of movement, yieldingly connected with and to reciprocate said knife; feeding means; measure ing devices operable upon the edges of the work and variable stop means controlled by said measuring means to limit the reciprocations of said knife relative to its actuating means.

37. A slashing machine comprising, in

combination, a work support; a reciproeableknife means to varv the limits of IGClPTOCSr sense"? Work intermittently at the end of each r'eciprocating movement.

39. A slashing machine comprising the combination of progressively actln'g slashing means, and progressively effective Work governed means for confining the slashing Within a deslred area. i

r 40., A slashing machine comprising the combination of slashing means for making a plurality of'slashes in succession, and autothe knife 18; means to reciprocate said knife; and knife-shifting mechanism includ ing a. shaft 33, a slide rod 28 reciprocated thereby, a bell crank 22, springs 30 between therod 28 and bell crank 22, and a rod 21 to communicate movement of the bell crank to the knife, substantially as described. H

42. A machine of the class described comrising, in combination, the work support 36;

rnife 18; means to reciprocate the'knife; a

connecting rod 21. for shifting the knife laterally; means to operate said connecting rod; a feed roller 39 and depresser 38 to present successive portions of the Work to the knife; and a stop 57 X todetermine initial adjustment ofthe work.

43. prising, in combination, a work support 36; a knife 18; its moving slide 14; a connecting rod 21 to move the knife on said slide; actuating means for said slide and connecting rod; and a fiexer '54 to flex the workpreparatory to the action of the knife.

44. A machine of the class described comprising, in combination, a Work support 36; a knife 18 its moving slide 14; .a connecting rod 21 to move the knife on' said slide; ac-

A machine of the class described comtuating means for said slide and connecting rod; and a measuring device 64 to cooperate with the work for controlling a movement of said connecting rod.

45. A machine of the class described comprising, iii-combination, a Work support 36; a knife 18; a rod 21 to adjust the knife; actuating means for the rod, including a stop device 71 to vary the effectiveness of the actuatingmeans; and adjustable wedge slides 68, 69 to co trol the action of said stop de vice 7]..

46. A machine of the class describedcomprising, in combination, a WOIk support; slashing means starting and stopping mean for said machine; a toothed slide 95 movable synchronously with the slashing means; and an ear 102 moved by said slide to disorgam ize the starting'an'd stopping mechanism and stop the slashing operation after a predetermined number of slashes.

47. A machine of the class described comprising, in combination, a work support; slashing means; starting and stopping means for saidmachine including a jointed connec- 5 tion 90 and a rest 93 to govern the joint; a toothed slide95 movable synchronously with the slashing means; an ear 102 operated by the slide 95 to stop the machine; a 'elding sliding support'for the slide 95; an a gear 10 100 for operating the slide 95.

48. A slashingmachine comprising incombination slashing means for producing a slashed area of separate slashes, and actuat ing means for causing successive actions of the slashing means to produce slashes of .15 different lengths.

In testimony whereof, I have signed my name to this specification, in the -resence of two subscribing witnesses.

WILLIAM C. STEWART.

.HENRY R. -MAYO. 

